Customer Reviews

Homicide: Life on the Street - The Complete Series (Repackaged)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There's really no need to expound on the fantastic qualities of "Homicide." Anyone who has seen the series or is contemplating purchasing it without ever having seen many episodes will know from other reviews how terrific it was. My chief concern when thinking of ordering the repackaged set concerned how it is packaged. Several other complete series editions (Sopranos, The Shield, etc.) have chosen to insert the DVDs into stiff and coarse cardboard slots. This has resulted in serious scuffs and scratches that have often rendered a disc (or multiple discs) unplayable. Not so with this set. Each season has been packaged in a slimline style case, and not one disc has so much as a smudge or mini-scratch on it. I'm looking at 35 pristine "mirrors." So, if anyone out there is debating whether or not to order this newest set of Homicide because of packaging concerns you are cleared for takeoff. It doesn't get any better than this. Go for it (and enjoy).

I will warn you that this review contains spoilers.

This is the collection that every "Homicide: Life on the Street" fan has been waiting for - and got - back in 2006. For some reason it is being rereleased and repackaged. It includes all 122 episodes of the seven seasons of the original series, the Law and Order cross-over episodes, plus the movie "Another Homicide" that aired in February 2000 and was the last we fans ever got to see of our beloved series.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, "Homicide" was an original crime drama that aired on NBC between January 1993 and May 1999. It was based on David Simon's book, "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets", which was based upon Simon's experiences in 1988 when he spent a year as a civilian assistant to the Baltimore Police Homicide Unit so that he could document what life was like in a big city homicide squad. His extensive notes, interviews, and observations were eventually published as the book.

Much of the cases chronicled in the first two seasons of the show are adapted from actual events in the book. The first two seasons focus on rookie Tim Bayliss's first case - the murder of 11 year-old Adina Watson whose murder is never solved and haunts him for the duration of the series. The original cast was truly brilliant, but to get a third full season the show's producers had to delete veteran actor Jon Polito (Crosetti) from the cast and pretty up the cast by adding Isabella Hoffman as shift supervisor Megan Russert.

There was an entire episode, perhaps the best of the series, dedicated to detective Crosetti's suicide at the beginning of season three. Crosetti left no note, and apparently had no huge looming problems in his life. He just chose to fill himself with alcohol, tranquilizers, and antidepressants and then throw himself into the Chesapeake rather than return to his job after his vacation, in spite of his deeply held religious beliefs that would make you think this is a choice he would never have made. This is one thing you'll see on Homicide time and time again - the writers are not afraid to leave the tough questions unanswered...forever.

Season four is also great, although two more original castmembers depart - Beau Felton and Stan Bolander. The two additions to the cast include Mike Kellerman, whose boyish, fun-loving exterior hides a cagey and complex detective with a penchant for self destruction. He is transferred from arson to homicide as a result of the help he renders on closing the case of an arson-related homicide when a dead body is found in a burned warehouse. Also, J. H. Brodie, a news cameraman who is fired because he gives a tape showing the attacker of an elderly woman to the police rather than to the station for which he works, is also added to the cast. He is apparently meant to be an analog of David Simon. The only problem is, Simon took great pains to keep himself out of the story while Brodie is constantly included in the plot, making him a somewhat awkward although likeable addition.

By season five, the "NYPD-Blueing" of Homicide is becoming a bit more pronounced. Never having stellar ratings, the series was forced by the network to show less detective work and gritty realism and more of the personal lives of the cast members. Still, the episodes are excellent. In this season, Michelle Forbes, the new M.E. with a "Queen of the Dead" vibe, speeds into town and becomes involved with Mike Kellerman. Frank Pembleton is shown recovering from the stroke he had at the end of season four and struggling to return to full duty. Elijah Wood stars as a the spoiled sociopath son of a Baltimore judge who believes he can get away with anything, including plotting the murder of his own judge mother. Finally, there is the apparent suicide of a long-since departed detective that turns out to be a murder.

Season six is where things begin to go downhill in the show. At the conclusion of season five it was determined that detectives would rotate between departments. This was used as a vehicle to introduce three largely uninteresting and even unlikeable castmembers - Det. Ballard who actually comes from a Seattle homicide unit, Det. Paul Falsone and Det. Stu Gharty. Falsone always came across as a sneak and Stu Gharty had already been shown up as a coward in an episode from a previous season. Melissa Leo's character, Kay Howard, is now completely evicted from the series. Still, there are some interesting developments. In "Subway" Pembleton gets an opportunity to speak with the dead for a change rather than for them. Bayliss, at the ripe old age of 37, decides to explore other facets of his sexuality, much to the surprise of Pembleton. Kellerman's execution/shooting of arch-criminal Luther Mahoney in the previous season leads to all out war between the police and Mahoney's family that ends up in a shootout in the squad room and also with Bayliss taking a bullet for Pembleton. Both Pembleton and Kellerman resign from the force.

Season seven is largely forgettable. Bayliss has converted to Buddhism following his brush with death and becomes "The Zen Detective". Giardello's son joins the cast as liason between Baltimore PD and the FBI, although the two look more like brothers than father and son - the age separation is just not there, and neither is any semblance of a believable family connection. Michael Michele joins the cast as ex beauty queen/detective Rene Sheppard and does as good a job of helping this show jump the shark as Ted McGinley could have ever hoped to do.

The main episodes from season seven worth watching include those that wrap up Mike Kellerman's story after his exile at the end of season six - the two parter "Kellerman P.I". There are also the episodes that further Tim Bayliss' character development where he is forced to shoot the killer of a Buddhist monk in self defense - "Zen and the Art of Murder". The other storyline worth watching involve episodes on the Internet killer, who is released on a technicality but vows to Bayliss that he will kill again. These two storylines - the Internet killer being freed and Tim discovering that he can kill if he has to - collide in the excellent series finale "Forgive Us Our Trespasses".

The movie aired about nine months after the series finale and has Giardello running for mayor. He is shot by a man whose son is addicted to drugs who does not like Giardello's stand on drugs as more of a treatment problem than a crime problem. The entire cast from the series - and I mean everybody - shows up in this film. Besides helping solve the case, Pembleton gets to hear one more confession - that of Bayliss admitting to the shooting of the Internet killer and demanding that Pembleton "bring him in". This is a crime that Bayliss' heart can get past but his head cannot. As a final revelation, we discover that the dead have ready access to coffee, but not expresso.

This is, without doubt, the best ever cop show bar none. Better even than the Wire, excellent though that is. The character development throughout the series is wonderful, the dialogue is intelligent and witty, and the plot lines weave wonderfully behind the relationships which are in fact the main point of the show. In the best possible way it is in fact a cop soap!

I like having all the shows including the cross overs and not having to pay a ridiculous amount for it.
The only real criticism I have is there are mo captions available. Being hard of hearing this would have been nice to have.
Other than that its nice to have a good quality show to watch.

I'll get right to the point.

No CC. Makes it tough as my hearing is going, and there is a lot of mumbling going on.

They didn't even take the time to put the episodes in order.

Shame on you A&E and NBC.

I would like to see these series but there is no subtitles, no close caption, so as I am a french speaking person, I doubt I would be able to follow this too good serie

This is one of the best police series shown on American television in the last 20 years. I bought the dvd set with anticipation of re-watching the 3 cross-over episodes shared with Law and Order, which appear on the 35th dvd. However, my set from importcds.com (ordered through amazon.com) was defective: there was no 35th dvd. The company refused to send the missing disc to me. My viewing experience was compromised by unrealistic expectations gleaned from the product description. You'll probably have a good experience if you stay clear of that seller.

First of all I love this show and it's one of the best aired. My only issue with the set is that it's not in order to the dates the episodes aired. That would be the only reason I give it 4 stars

Awesome package for fans of the series and everyone who has ever lived in Baltimore for a period of time. The series was shot in large part in an old abandoned police station on the Baltimore waterfront and the city itself is featured throughout in all of it's sometimes gritty beauty and character. Featurettes are included with most of the DVD's and the commentaries are very cool on pivotal episodes. It is great to watch the progression of Andre Braugher and Kyle Secor through the series as theirs is, in my mind, the pivotal partnership. Yaphet Kotto brings a dignity and gravitas to his leadership of the squad and while he has to navigate some difficult and sometimes slimy political waters, he does so without ever compromising himself or his squad. Homicide survived many cast changes through the years and the newer characters have just as much to offer as some of the old. On the whole, probably the most real and intelligent police drama in history. There is also a 2 hr movie included that ties up most of the loose ends, and provides a way for Muench, the darkly humorous class clown of the group to live on in the Law and Order franchise.

As a filmmaker myself I never realized how much past film or tv work can and has influenced me and several other artists. This show had some of the most realistic and compelling writing and atmosphere of any series or film ever produced. I feel that too much emphasis has been placed on shows like NYPD Blue and the like but that show as well as other "cop shows" seemed to feel too forced and kinda too Hollywood. The characters in this show seemed to be more real and flawed and not caricatures of stereotypes like in other dramas of this time. I feel many shows and films that have followed have taken a cue fro the realism of this show. The cinematography of the show has been an influence on many films and tv shows as well. it has a gritty movement to it that has seeped into everything from shows like Breaking Bad to the sadly canceled Detroit 187. I will cut this short now but if you haven't seen this show do so now. the price of the dvd set is well worth it